Obituaries.

HANS HOTTER, Offenbach-am-Main, Germany, January 19, 1909--Grunwald, Germany, December 6, 2003

A magisterial singing actor, bass-baritone Hans Hotter was the dominant Wotan of the post-World War II era in his native Germany and throughout the world, an artist whose command of mood, color and character was truly godlike. He made his debut at twenty-one, in Troppau, and before he was thirty, Hotter was established as a leading artist at the prestigious Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, where he sang the Commandant in the premiere of Strauss's Friedenstag (1938). Although he never joined the Nazi party and eschewed appearances at Bayreuth while it was under the control of ardent Hitlerite Winifred Wagner, Hotter was able to remain active in German theaters throughout the war, creating leading roles in the premiere of Strauss's Capriccio (Olivier, in Munich, 1942) and in the dress rehearsal of the aborted first production of Liebe der Danae (Jupiter, at Salzburg, 1944). When the war ended, Hotter was in his vocal prime and more than ready for an international singing career, which was to last until he was well into his seventies, when he was taking on roles such as Schigolch in Lulu, the Speaker in Die Zauberflote and the speaker of the summer-wind narration in Schoenberg's Gurrelieder.

Hotter had abundant humor and charm--his Barbiere Basilio and Sir Morosus in Schweigsame Frau were much admired, as was the rich, autumnal warmth of his Hans Sachs--but his imposing, six-foot four-inch frame and austere, high-browed profile made Hotter an ideal figure of tragic dignity, unequalled in his era as Wotan, Amfortas, Wagner's Dutchman, the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlo, Orest and Jochanaan. He was especially beloved in Munich, where he sang from ...